Biology subjects

Backhaus, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Backhaus, A..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Controlling GRF4-GIF1 Expression for Efficient, Genotype-Independent Transformation Across Wheat Cultivars

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plays a vital role in global food security, and its continuous genetic improvement is essential to meet the demands of a rapidly growing world population. Advances in genome sequencing and assembly have positioned wheat as a model crop for functional genomics and have increased the demand for highly efficient, genotype-independent transformation systems. A fusion technology involving a GROWTH-REGULATING FACTOR (GRF) and a GRF-INTERACTING FACTOR (GIF) has emerged as a powerful tool to enhance regeneration efficiency and expand the range of transformable genotypes. In this study, we present an optimized and robust Agrobacterium-mediated wheat transformation protocol incorporating GRF4-GIF1, tested across multiple wheat varieties. Across all tested wheat cultivars, GRF4-GIF1 containing constructs consistently enabled successful transformation, with varied efficiencies depending on the genotype and promotors used to drive the gene fusion. Our method significantly improves transformation efficiency while minimizing GRF4-GIF1 pleiotropic effects, providing a versatile platform for gene function analysis and gene editing. This work represents a critical step toward efficient, genotype-independent transformation in wheat, supporting both research and breeding applications aimed at improving crop resilience, nutritional value, and productivity.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2020

'Macrobot' - an automated segmentation-based system for powdery mildew disease quantification

Plant diseases, as one of the perpetual problems in agriculture, is increasingly difficult to manage due to intensifying of the field production, global trafficking, reduction of genetic variability of crops, climatic changes-driven expansion of pests, redraw and loss of effectiveness of pesticides and rapid breakdown of the disease resistance in the field. The substantial progress in genomics of both plants and pathogens, achieved in the last decades has the potential to counteract this negative trend, however, only when the genomic data is supported by relevant phenotypic data that allows linking the genomic information to specific traits. In this respect, phenotyping is and will remain an essential element of any comprehensive functional genomics study. We have developed a set of methods and equipment and combined them into a "Macrophenomics pipeline". The pipeline has been optimized for the quantification of powdery mildew infection symptoms on wheat and barley but it can be adapted to other diseases and host plants. The Macrophenomics pipeline scores the visible disease symptoms, typically 5-7 days after inoculation (dai) in a highly automated manner. The system can precisely and reproducibly quantify the percentage of the infected leaf area with a throughput of the image acquisition module of up to 10 000 individual samples per day, making it appropriate for phenotyping of large germplasms collections and crossing populations.

plant biology↗